LOSSES MOUNT, DUKE COACH QUITS

CHICAGO TRIBUNE

Nearly four years of losing football games convinced Barry Wilson that his dream for Duke wouldn't come true.

Wilson, a gray-haired, square-jawed ex-Army infantryman hoping to continue the success established by predecessor Steve Spurrier, announced Monday that he will resign effective at the end of the season.

"I was given a great opportunity. I was treated very fairly by all parties concerned," an emotional Wilson said during his regularly scheduled news conference. "And, the bottom line is that, in the won-lost column, I have not been able to get the job done."

Wilson has a 12-29-1 mark-2-7 this season-with games remaining against North Carolina State and North Carolina.

Two weeks ago, Duke knocked off Wake Forest to snap a 17-game Atlantic Coast Conference losing streak. But the Blue Devils lost to Georgia Tech 47-14 last Saturday in a game filled with mistakes.

"You hope and dream and pray and work for a lot of positive things that you feel you can accomplish," said Wilson, sitting next to Athletic Director Tom Butters. "As this season has unveiled, particularly after the Georgia Tech game, maybe it's just an intangible, a gut feeling that it's not working."